What’s New & Noteworthy on DVD & Blu-ray – January 21, 2014

A great collection of titles this week, with a really good mix of content, too. Tom Hanks, Danny Trejo, ’80s action/adventure, butt-dwelling demons, Woody Allen… what doesn’t this week have to offer?

Captain Phillips – Tom Hanks got ignored for an Oscar nomination for this one, despite an astounding performance in an amazing film. Visceral, tense, and nail-bitingly suspenseful, this is the kind of movie that you expect when Tom Hans and Paul Greengrass team up. Just watch the trailer and see what I mean.

Machete Kills – I wasn’t a terribly big fan of the first Machete. Even though I love Robert Rodriguez movies, it just didn’t do very much for me. So my expectations for Machete Kills weren’t all that high, and I wasn’t exactly champing at the bit to see it, either. Still, I like mindless action movies and I like a lot of the people in it, so I delved in to the world of Machete once again. And for some odd reason, I liked this one a lot better than the first one. First off, it starts with a completely ridiculous trailer for the supposed third movie in the trilogy… which then ties in directly to the end of the movie. I really liked the meta nature of how that all lined up. But even though this movie was equally over the top as the first one (more so, actually), I got into this time in a way I didn’t the first time. Plus, Mel Gibson is awesome as the bad guy. Machete Kills is absolutely a ridiculous movie, but I had fun watching it.

Blue Jasmine – My general indifference towards Woody Allen continues with his latest critically acclaimed effort. Cate Blanchett is amazing as a New York socialite forced to relocate when her financial and social worlds collapse. There’s no doubt she’s a top contender for the Best Actress Oscar. And the film ultimately is worth watching for her performance, but overall I liked yet didn’t love it. I definitely enjoyed the film more than some of his other weeks, and the script does have some nice moments that are accentuated by Blanchett (plus an amazing supporting cast), but this is one of those movies you watch for the actors, not the film.

In a World – Lake Bell (Surface, Black Rock) wrote, directed, and stars in this comedy set in the world of voice acting. As a voice actor myself, I was really interested in seeing this movie. It’s a quirky kind of comedy with a romantic flair, but it’s not a rom-com. This is a movie about voice acting and set in the world of voice acting, yet it has great character beats and smart humor. This is definitely a more offbeat film, but I really enjoyed it. Also, there’s a great supporting cast that included Ken Marino, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Sigourney Weaver, and Fred Melamed (who is utterly fantastic.) This is one of those under-the-radar films that is worth tracking down.

Charlie Countryman – Shia Labeouf, Evan Rachel Wood, and Mads Mikkelson star in this oddball romance-slash-thriller, in which a young American travels to Bucharest, falls in love with a girl, and then tries to free her from the gangster she’s married to. It’s part romance, part crime flick, part acid trip, and part travelogue, but it’s surprisingly interesting. I know people don’t like Shia Labeouf much, but he’s actually pretty good here, and Evan Rachel Wood and Mads Mikkelson are outstanding Plus, Rupert Grint appears as a drug-tripping tourist, which is pretty fun. This is one of those films that’s better (and weirder) than you might expect.

Instructions Not Included – This spanish-language comedy was a surprise hit at the box office late last year, grossing over $44 million in the US alone, and over $85 million worldwide. It doesn’t star anyone you’ve heard of, but the story is about a ladies’ man who ends up with a baby via a former flame who leaves the child on his doorstep. Hijinks ensue. But so do some moving moments.

Raise The Titanic – This 1980 action/adventure movie was the first film ever based on a Clive Cussler novel, and sadly one of the last. (The only other one ever made was Sahara, which was a disaster that ended up in a huge lawsuit, even though it’s actually a good film.) This high concept movie stars James Brolin and Sam Robards, and despite the fact that it’s nearly 35 years old, it’s still a lot of fun. The special effects are quite good for the time, and as someone who’s a huge Cussler fan and a Titanic aficionado, this movie is one of my favorite cult classic gems. Now it’s available on Blu-ray for the first time. Yay!

Bad Milo! – Ken Marino stars in this crazy comedy about a man with a demon that comes out of his butt. And no, I did not make that up. I love Ken Marino, and there are some great supporting actors in this film, but it’s hard to say how I felt about the movie. I mean, it’s a demon. Who comes out of Ken Marino’s butt. And he’s named Milo. Umm… just watch the trailer.

TV Hits – Mill Creek Entertainment has a slew of new bargain-priced releases of well-loved TV shows. These are all shows that have been available on DVD before, but now they’re being rereleased with much lower price points, and often bundled with two seasons in the same set. Here are the new releases they have out this week: The Cosby Show: Season 1 & 2; Married With Children: Season 1 & 2 (with the original Frank Sinatra theme song reinstated for the first time on home video); Highway To Heaven: Season 3, Wings: Season 3 and 4; Just Shoot Me: Season 1 & 2; Bewitched: Season 1 & 2; and Dilbert: The Complete Series. It’s hard to pass some of these up for such low, low prices.

Also available on Blu-ray and DVD this week:

The Criterion Collection releases a new deluxe edition of classic comedy It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. As always, you get restored and remastered picture and sound, copious extras, and an essay booklet. You also get Spencer Tracy, Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Mickey Rooney, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, and more comedians and famous actors than you can shake a stick at.

Dylan McDermott and Peter Facinelli star in the thriller Freezer, about a mechanic who wakes up locked in a lock-in freezer. No pure survival story, the film also involves the Russian mob, a wounded cop, and millions of dollars.

Nastassia Kinski stars in Paul Schrader’s oddball horror film Cat People, available on Blu-ray for the first time courtesy of Shout Factory’s Scream Factory imprint. Awesome new cover art and new extra features make this a must-have for fans of the film or cult horror in general.

The hit series returns to DVD with NYPD Blue: Season 5. This is back when Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits were still on the show and it was in the middle of some of its best years, so fans should be happy to see this new collection after a long wait.

William Fichtner and Donald Sutherland star in the under-the-radar but intriguing procedural show Crossing Lines: Season One.

Counting Cars: Season 2, Vol. 2 is about a few guys who go around flipping cars; vintage, rare, or collectible automobiles that are usually ready for the scrap heap and are then refurbished and turned into monster machines. It will make car enthusiasts drool.

Are you a fan of the Nightmare on Elm Street films? Then you have to watch Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. It’s a four-hour documentary about the creation of the entire series, and it is utterly fantastic. (It’s actually better than most of the films.) It was available on DVD only through mail order a few years back, and is now available on Blu-ray through online retailers.

That didn’t take too long. The Starving Games is a new spoof film of The Hunger Games that also works in characters from other hit films of the past few years. Like most of these films of late, it’s a lot of lowest common denominator humor, and I doubt it will impress many people, except maybe teenagers with a low threshold for humor.

My Little Pony: Classic Movie Collection packages four of the 1980s animated movies in one set: Princess Promenade, Dancing In The Clouds, Runaway Rainbow, and Friends Are Never Far Away. Little girls everywhere can now squeal.

Acclaimed Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki’s odd film La Vie De Boheme also gets the Criterion Collection. This is definitely one of the more arthouse releases this week, but fans of foreign cinema will enjoy this lavish edition.

Making its Blu-ray debut, Die Monster Die stars Boris Karloff and is a horror movie involving a meteorite and giant plants. Yep, giant plants. Grab some wine to go with this vintage cheese.

From the creator of the cult classic show Sledge Hammer, we now have Bullet in the Face, a completely over-the-top comedy series about a killer who ends up with the face of a dead cop, and is then forced to work with the police. Funny yet ridiculous, this will appeal to people who like really offbeat humor.

Best Man Down stars Justin Long and Tyler Labine, and it’s sort of a Due Date style comedy about a newly-married couple trying to travel cross country with the dead body of their best man, who died unexpectedly at their wedding.

Sesame Street: Be a Good Sport is the newest DVD for pre-schoolers, and it features over two hours of episodes and vignettes focused on sports, playing fair, feelings, and friendship.

Comedy Bang Bang: The Complete First Season is an off-kilter sketch comedy show from IFC that fans of Portlandia, Between Two Ferns, and Tim and Eric will probably enjoy. Plus, it’s filthy with guest stars, including Zach Galifianakis, Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm, Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Ed Helms, Elizabeth Banks, Andy Samberg, and Jack Black, among others.

Dead Weight is a new low-budget post-apocalyptic film that takes a page from The Walking Dead‘s playbook. It focuses more on the characters and their struggles, rather than trying to be an action film or a special effects spectacular. It has its flaws, but it’s an impressive effort for what it is.

Concrete Blondes is a fun action/comedy film about three roommates (all of whom are quite lovely) who stumble across a bag filled with millions of dollars. And then things go very smoothly. Nah, of course not. But with Diora Baird, Carly Pope, and Samaire Armstrong in the cast, I’d watch this film even if it wasn’t surprisingly good, which it is.

Prison Break‘s Dominic Purcell stars in Vikingdom, a fairly weak effort to capitalize on the current interest in vikings AND the zombie craze. Yep, there are zombie vikings in this movie. Unfortunately, I think the actors are mostly zombie vikings as well, so that ain’t good.

Not interested in viking zombies? How about crusading knight zombies? Yep, Knight of the Dead is another low-budget zombie flick, this time with knights on horses battling the undead. Sure, why not?

Old Goats is kind of like Grumpy Old Men if Grumpy Old Men was made by Kevin Smith and Nicholas Winding Refn. It’s basically about a trio of really old guys drinking, swearing, and fighting aging, and I think there’s an audience out there that will find this film extremely funny.

While Nostalghia is ostensibly about story of a Russian poet’s journey through Italy, this film (now newly out on Blu-ray) is really more of a filmed version of a surreal poem, filled with dream imagery, allegory, and general weirdness. Not for the Fast & Furious fans out there.

The French have been quietly making some of the best thrillers around for the past few years, and The Prey is the most recent effort. Taut, tense, and gripping, check it out and see why France seems to have taken over the action thriller genre.

Space Voyages is a four hour DVD from The Smithsonian Channel that collects five episodes of their Space Voyages show. It’s ag rwat way to learn about man’s exploration of space, and science junkies will dig the amount of content you get for a good price.

Black Water Vampire is a new found footage horror film that borrows heavily from the many films in the same format that have preceded it, especially Blair Witch. It’s actually fairly enjoyable for what it is, and fans of the genre will probably enjoy it, I’m just tired of found footage films.

Part food show, part travelogue, Lidia Celebrates America: Life’s Milestones follows renowned chef and culinary author Lidia Bastianich across the country as she meets with families and learns about their traditions.

Mike Spring

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